There is something deeply disturbing when the songs from our youth—like Marvin Gaye’s WHAT’S GOING ON—that articulate or allude to the exasperation, agony, unnecessary suffering, and righteous anger of the time in response to the Vietnam War, the neglect of civil rights, racism, injustice, immorality in high places, the abuse of power, and the refusal of those in power to listen, sound so contemporary, so fitting to these times now, so descriptive of this past week of mayhem.
“Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying . . .
What’s going on (What’s going on)
Yeah, what’s going on (What’s going on)?”
Don’t let the Soul R&B sound make you miss that this is a Lament, a cry of the heart. Despite its melody and smooth soulfulness, it’s a shriek from a sorrowing soul who is fed up with the madness and obscenity of it all.
Geez, we’re slow learners. It’s not supposed to be like this. What’s going on?
It’s also telling, that Gaye’s wise counsel for an alternative way—
“You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today”—
is still mocked, dismissed as being naive, hippie-dippy, or Pollyannaish while contrarians who think the answer is more guns in the hands of good people than are presently in the hands of bad people is the answer. Gosh, I feel safer just thinking about that strategy. Really? What’s going on?
Or is that view and plan proof positive that the definition for insanity as “doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results” is sadly right on target? Bullseye!
On April 1, 1984, Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his own father one day short of his 45th birthday. It was no April Fool’s prank anymore than the Mass shooting this past Tuesday was a mean rumor. Something tells me that Marvin Gaye’s father and James Madison and his 2nd Amendment cronies from more than 225 years ago are rolling over in their graves this week as innocent children who will never not be ten are mourned and cremated or buried. What’s going on”
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